Middle East - Anthony Ham [475]
Pinar Pide Salonu ( 892 9913; Siegburg Caddesi 3; pide TL4; 9am-midnight) Some travellers claim that this little place serves the best pide anywhere. It also does some good kebaps and salads.
Old House Restaurant & Bar (Eski Ev; 892 9357; 1005 Sokak 1/A; mains TL6-9; 8am-midnight) Set in a courtyard among fruit trees, this cool, intimate place serves tasty Turkish dishes. Try the Old House kebap.
Okumuş Mercan Restaurant ( 892 6196; 1006 Sokak 44; meze TL4-5, mains TL7-9; 7am-11pm) This place is loved locally for its traditional home fare, served in a courtyard beside a fountain in the shade of a mulberry tree.
Garden Restaurant ( 892 6165; Garden Motel, Kale Altı 5; meze TL5.50, mains TL7-11; 8am-11pm) About as organic as it gets in Selçuk, the restaurant enjoys a bucolic setting amid plots and the majority of the produce on your plate is grown. The selection of mezes is particularly good.
Getting There & Away
Selçuk’s otogar is across from the tourist office. While it’s easy enough to get to Selçuk direct from İzmir (TL6, 1½ hours), coming from the south or east you generally have to change at Aydın.
Frequent minibuses head for Kuşadası (TL4, 30 minutes) and over to the beach at Pamucak.
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EPHESUS (EFES)
Even if you’re not an architecture buff, you can’t help but be dazzled by the sheer beauty of the ruins of Ephesus ( 892 6010; admission TL15, parking TL3; 8am-5pm Oct-Apr, 8am-7pm May-Sep), the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. If you want to get a feel for what life was like in Roman times, Ephesus is an absolute must-see.
There’s a wealth of sights to explore, including the Great Theatre, reconstructed between AD 41 and 117, and capable of holding 25,000 people; the marble-paved Sacred Way; the 110-sq-metre agora (marketplace), heart of Ephesus’ business life; and the Library of Celsus, adorned with niches holding statues of the classical Virtues. On Curetes Way, you can’t miss the impressive Corinthian-style Temple of Hadrian, on the left, with lovely friezes in the porch; the magnificent Terraced Houses (admission TL15; 9am-4.30pm); and the Fountain of Trajan. Curetes Way ends at the two-storey Gate of Hercules, constructed in the 4th century AD, which has reliefs of Hercules on both main pillars. Up the hill on the left are the ruined remains of the Prytaneum (municipal hall) and the Temple of Hestia Boulaea, in which a perpetually burning flame was guarded. Finally, you reach the Odeum, a small theatre dating from AD 150 and used for musical performances and meetings of town council.
Audio guides are available, as are water and snacks, but bring your own as prices are high. Heat and crowds can be problematic so come early or late and avoid weekends and public holidays.
Many pensions in Selçuk offer free lifts to Ephesus. Note that there are two entry points roughly 3km apart. A taxi from Selçuk to the main entrance should cost about TL12.
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KUŞADASI
0256 / pop 50,000
It’s easy to sneer at Kuşadası’s package hotels, fast-food restaurants, in-your-face bazaar, karaoke bars, tattoo parlours and holiday crowds. But many locals are very proud of the place, seeing it as exemplifying a can-do, make-the-best-of-yourself spirit, and those who revile it as snobs.
There are internet cafés and banks with ATMs in the centre. The most useful dolmuş stand is 1.5km inland on Adnan Menderes Bulvarı. The otogar is right out on the bypass road.
Sights
Kuşadası is short on specific sights, although there’s a minor stone fortress once used by pirates on an island in the harbour, and an old caravanserai near the harbour. Just beyond the PTT, a passage leads to the old Kaleiçi neighbourhood, which has narrow streets packed with restaurants and bars.
Kuşadası also makes a good base for visits to the superb ancient cities of Priene, Miletus and Didyma (all 3 sites